Every couple weeks or so I look around me and realize that only a handful of aspects of my life are “together” at any one time. The problem for me is that as soon as I concentrate on getting one area of my life organized, the other areas that seemed to be doing well fall apart again. That said, there is nothing like the feeling of walking through the house and seeing that everything is in order. Even if it only lasts a short time.

Staying organized means that your life inevitably runs smoother. You not only save time, but you save energy spent trying to find something you lost, remember an appointment you wrote on a post-it that mysteriously vanished, or just sifting through the pile of chaos. If we could all visualize a typical day, and think about how much time and energy is devoted to:

• Where did I put my… ?
• What time was I supposed to… ?
• I’ve got to find something else to wear because…
• I have to call XX company because I can’t find the letter they sent about…
• I have to reschedule my meeting because I double-booked myself…

The list could go on. For the majority of us, we’re so busy, that a good part of our day is wasted trying to stay on top of everything. It’s one step above all-out damage control.

Organizing isn’t just for closets; although, that’s always a good place to start. Hence the expression:

A place for everything, and everything in its place

Here’s my list of important life areas that could always be improved by getting organized.

1. Physical storage areas in your house: yep, like the closet I just spoke of. It’s never fun to spend 15 minutes in the morning when you’re running late for work trying to find that other shoe that you KNOW is somewhere in the closet.
   • Try working on one thing at a time. Maybe give your undivided attention to only one storage area per weekend. You’ll be more likely to come away with a fantastically organized space by Monday, instead of two closets, a garage and a shed all in various stages of chaos.

1. Time organization: this might be the most important for me. If you don’t have a good handle on where and when you’re needed, things get forgotten, meetings start late, and you spend the entire day feeling like you’re running to catch up. That’s not a fun way to spend the day!
   • Some ways to accomplish this? Start using your phone calendar, if you have one. Set reminders for everything (even when to take your vitamins if you have to!). If you are consistent about using the calendar, than you’ll spend your time thinking about the actual task at hand (or enjoying your down time) instead of worrying about what is coming up.
   • Consider a to-do list. I write one up every night. I’m a little type A, I admit, but it truly helps me in the morning and throughout the rest of the day to have it there to look at. I often get so busy that some of the little things that I want to get done get lost in the shuffle. If I have a list, it keeps me on-task and more efficient (meaning my reward at the end of the day is actual down-time).
   • Block out time for the things that you consider must-haves, and then stick to it. Need to exercise every day? Block out a time every day in your calendar that you are NOT available to anyone else or for anyone else. Make that your time, and don’t deviate from it. It becomes this consistent space in time that belongs to you, and you can count on it every day.
2. Financials: getting your money in order is a must in today’s economy. Keeping this part of your life organized will save you time and money.
   • If you’re really out of whack and flying by the seat of your pants (e.g. you’re the kind of person that tends to have to check your account balance on your phone while in line at the grocery store), consider dedicating a night to getting everything organized. It will take some time, but it’s worth it.
   • For instance, balance your incoming cash with what you have out going each month. Then, set up auto-payments for each of your bills to come out a day to after a pay day. Your creditors will allow you to change and move your due date so that you can be sure the funds will always be there. Once that’s in place, then paying bills is one less thing you have to worry about.
   • Look into a money management software. I’ve tried Mint, which will keep track of all your creditors, back accounts, savings, etc., and it will also sync with your debit card so you can always see how your spending your money each month. There are many options, I would highly recommend considering this as an option.

There are plenty of areas we all wish were perfectly organized all the time. I consider myself to be above-average at organizing, but below-average in keeping things that way. But, I continually experience the benefits of staying on top of things and so I will taking time once in a while to get something back to a state of order will never be wasted time for me. Here are some other articles on the subject of being organized, and staying on top of your finances and personal spending:

• How to Make the Most of you Money
• Not Enough Hours in the Day
• The Cogs in the Machine of Your Life
• The Money Lie we Live, and the Truth that can Set us Free

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How complicated is your life? Do you have time to do the things you want to do? It’s easy to get caught up in all these things we believe we “have to do” without realizing that we actually don’t have to do any of them. I’ve totally over-simplified things here (obviously if we want to keep our house or put food on the table there are some things that have to be done). But if we forget about the essential functions of our lives for a moment, we can take a look at everything else.

Simplicity means not having responsibilities in your life that aren’t worth your attention. It’s about choosing to invest your time in things that actually improve your life. It is NOT about keeping up with the Jones’… which is- I think how many of us wind up taking on too much. Every choice you make about what you buy and what you commit to must be taken with the following consideration: will this add real value to my life, or not?

Too often, those extraneous things, nagging chores and responsibilities are things that we took on believing 100% that they would add value to our lives. In reality, they may be decreasing the value of your life. Take that fancy, awesome, kick-ass boat that seemed completely necessary for total life happiness. Now, it needs repairs, it needs to be hauled back and forth from the lake, and it takes up space (which may mean additional costs incurred to store it). Maybe your family is pretty busy, so for all that extra work and responsibility, you get to use that kick-ass boat only a few weekends a year. Is the boat adding value, or just taking up time and money?

It could be the house with enough bathrooms to handle a football team, an elaborate wine cellar, and a yard to die for. Suddenly you have to hire a housekeeper, a gardener, learn to love (and buy) great wine… and have you really actually used all those bathrooms? Is this big beautiful house worth what it costs to keep it, or was it something that at the time seemed to ensure absolute bliss in life?

Granted, for many people these examples don’t work. There’s probably someone out there who loves his boat spends all his available time on it, and can absolutely say that it brings him value, joy, and happiness. That’s awesome! Everyone should have that one thing. Problem is we’re in the habit of thinking we have to have everything! That everything will increase the value of our life… until it doesn’t and so we’re on to the next thing. If you’ve ever wondered how all of those storage unit complexes stay in business, this is how.

A personal example for me was my Jeep. I had owned one before, but it was a total lemon and I had to sell it so I could actually make it to work on time. I vowed that I would one day own a Jeep again and that it would be my hobby. My project. My happiness. So, six years later with a daily driver paid off and money in the bank, I went and bought my Jeep. She was beautiful! Everything I had ever dreamed of. Six months later, I still only had time to drive it twice a week (to work), was incurring additional costs each month for maintenance, insurance, and the small portion of it that I financed. I kept telling myself, “No! This is what is going to make me happy!” Well, I finally came to my senses and realized that the dream I had finally fulfilled actually took value from my life by inundating me with more work, more responsibility, and more costs. It turned out that my answer to happiness was costing me a lot, and was taking value from my life instead of what I had intended it to do.

So I sold it, and I don’t regret it. I’m not worrying about the additional money needed to support it, not wondering how I’m going to find time to use it, and not thinking about how it’s sitting in my garage “going to waste” because I don’t have time to use it. I took something that I truly believed would be value-adding to my life and got rid of it because it was doing exactly the opposite. And that is exactly what I’m telling you to do too.

Getting rid of a boat you don’t use, or a house that’s too big, not only means monetary savings that can be used for better things (things that actually add value), it allows you to have extra time and space in your life (both physically and mentally). The icing on this proverbial cake, is you also have less stress because it’s one less thing you have to think about. Now imagine if you could eliminate everything except the essentials? What if you could prune your life down to a tiny, efficient little machine that was so simple in form that it practically ran itself. Then what would you do with all that time, money, and brain space?

Simply put: the value of simplicity can be priceless. Simplicity means wealth… just a different kind.

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A new Oxfam study recently completed revealed that the diet of people around the world is changing primarily due to rising food prices. This study shows us that we tend to sacrifice healthy choices in the short-term to save money, but is it really a good cost-saving measure?

It seems to me that humans in general require an immediate response to choices they make. Saving money is no different. People only see that they’re saving money in that moment by buying less healthy, cheap food. When people make unhealthy choices about the food they’re eating, they may be shaving off $50 a month in food costs, but eventually, I guarantee they’ll spend that $50 later- on health care.

Now, Oxfam’s study was worldwide, so many of the issues we have in American (like our health care system) are not concerns elsewhere. (Conversely, in many developing countries the problem is more serious because people can only afford one meal a day already). As far as developed nations go, is it really worth saving that $50 if you’ll be spending $100/month on prescription meds to keep your blood pressure down and diabetes at bay for the rest of your life? I’m reminded of a scene in a food/nutrition documentary I watched a while back. (I’m sorry I can’t recall which one this was in… I watch a lot of them!). This family eats primarily processed food because its cheaper. They were explaining how broccoli was so expensive for a family of five to eat every night, but they could buy a bag of chips (or something similar) for a $1 that would last one to two days.  They were totally right on the cost savings, but here’s the kicker: the father was on a handful of medicines, all directly related to poor diet. They were spending tons of money paying for his prescriptions every month, and that was likely why they didn’t have money for good food!

Here are some ideas on how you can reduce your grocery budget without losing out on healthy foods.

• Eat less meat. I know it sounds terrible to some of you, but choosing to only eat meat one meal a day, or even 4-5 meals a week can save you a ton.
• Get rid of your vices. Typically are vices are things that don’t show up on the healthy food list anyway… try getting rid of them from your list and you’ll have more money for the good stuff. At the very least try to cut your spending on it in half.
• Shop around. If you must have broccoli (as I do), watch the grocery store sales. Often if my usual store isn’t having a sale, I can find one somewhere else.
• Switch to frozen. If you tend to stick with fresh veggies, try converting over to frozen. You’ll save a ton, and they won’t go bad if you don’t eat them. When things got tight at my house, we switched to frozen green beans, corn and peas, but kept buying fresh broccoli and other veggies. Find some that you can tolerate frozen and give it a try for a month.
• Be picky about organic. I always advocate eating organic foods, but there are many that you can get buy with conventionally if you know what to get. If you are really, really struggling… go conventional and watch for sales. I personally believe that conventionally-grown strawberries are still a better choice than a cheap, sugary granola bar.

It’s important that we think about the effects of our choices long-term, especially when it comes to our health and eating right. Have any other great tips for saving money at the store without losing out on health? Please share!

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